Anne of Green Gables: Chapter 33: The Hotel Concert Summary & Analysis

Diana is in Anne’s room, helping her get dressed up. The gable room has changed a lot over the past four years: there’s no gold or silver to be seen, but there are pretty curtains, apple-blossom wallpaper, and a few pictures, including a photograph of Miss Stacy, before which Anne keeps fresh flowers. Anne is getting ready to recite at an amateur concert at the White Sands Hotel. Diana has developed a reputation for fashion, and she makes sure that Anne’s dress, hair, and necklace are just right. She admires Anne’s natural style and grace—she feels like “just a dumpling” next to her friend, though Anne envies Diana’s dimples.

Marilla gives grudging approval to Anne’s look, though she thinks organdy is “unserviceable”—Matthew just buys anything pretty for Anne nowadays, no matter what Marilla advises. Anne says she’s not at all nervous to recite “The Maiden’s Vow” that night. She and Diana ride to White Sands in a wagon with some other girls; Billy Andrews, a reticent 20-year-old, insists that Anne sit up front with him because he admires her, although he's too shy to say much.

At the hotel, Anne suddenly feels like a country girl among the other performers; some of the other women are dressed in silks and diamonds. Out in the concert hall, the electric lights and buzz of the crowd unnerve her. Onstage, she sits between a stout lady in a pink dress and a tall, scornful girl in a white dress. The stout lady scrutinizes Anne, and the tall girl keeps commenting on the “country bumpkins” in the show.

A professional elocutionist is slated to recite, and she brings the house down. Anne covers her face as the audience applauds—she can’t bear to follow that performance. Unfortunately, it’s her turn. She suffers an attack of stage fright for the first time; the Debating Club concerts were always attended by friendly neighbors. She stands paralyzed for a few moments, until she spots Gilbert Blythe smiling near the back. Anne thinks he looks taunting, but he’s really just admiring Anne. In any case, she refuses to fail in front of Gilbert. Her mind clears, and she recites confidently. She even gets an encore.

It turns out that the lady in the pink dress is a millionaire’s wife. After the concert, she takes Anne backstage and introduces her to everyone, including the professional elocutionist. The night is a triumph, and she and her friends happily relive the event during the ride home. Diana overheard someone in the audience say that Anne has “Titian hair.” Anne explains that it refers to her red hair.

Anne tells her friends she feels as rich as the diamond-clad ladies they saw that night. They’re all 16-year-old girls with imaginations and beautiful Avonlea to live in. Anne doesn’t need diamonds; she’d rather be “Anne of Green Gables, with a string of pearl beads.”